


The curious case of the stray underwear

by ZeroPlusOne



Category: Winner (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Dorms, M/M, Taehyun is so done with jinhoon, the boy next door is noisy af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 01:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7146137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeroPlusOne/pseuds/ZeroPlusOne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taehyun finds something underneath his bed that doesn't belong to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The curious case of the stray underwear

 

The most peculiar thing is happening.

 

The first time Taehyun discovers the checkered boxers underneath his bed, he’s in the middle of some much-needed spring cleaning that involves rearranging notes and papers on his desk, organizing his clothes by importance, and sweeping the floor once. Last semester, he found 50,000 won among a pile of forgotten socks he inadvertently kicked under the bed over some time and it felt like he had won the lottery.

Needless to say, this is a disappointing downgrade.

The boxers aren’t his, so he figures Jinwoo might have left them behind during one of those times he slept over after a post-exam bender, too drunk to reach his own dorm room two floors up. Not that Taehyun would know why Jinwoo would be changing his underwear in his room (or why he’s going around with a spare) and haphazardly leaving the used ones behind, but that explanation seems reasonable enough at the time and he simply makes a mental note to talk to Jinwoo about it.

 

It’s two weeks after that when Taehyun finds another pair of boxers by accident when he’s reaching for a pen that rolled under the bed. This time, they’re bright red and far too ostentatious for Taehyun’s tastes, so it isn’t possible he’d just forgotten about owning them, which admittedly, is a better alternative theory to Jinwoo’s penchant for leaving soiled boxers behind. Strangely, Jinwoo hadn’t even come over at any point in the last two weeks, not since Taehyun found the first pair.

He pauses to wonder if the underwear got mixed up with his clothes from the Laundromat, which happens sometimes, right? Why Taehyun hadn’t noticed them when he was sorting his stuff, or how they ended up under his bed _again,_ he doesn’t really think too much about. There are a few days left before midterms and while the whole thing is a little suspicious, it’s non-threatening enough for Taehyun to tuck at the back of his head as something to revisit when he isn’t stressed out, sleepless, and running on caffeine.

 

The third time Taehyun chances upon _two_ new stray pairs of underwear, Jinwoo happens to be over with his cat, Rei, his friend armed with a few beers and several rants. They’d just finished their last midterm and while they’re not exactly in the physical condition for a drunken spree, the need to ‘liquor’ the wounds left by the vicious exams still prevails, even if it means just getting tipsy enough to fall into a satisfying 12-hour sleep to make up for the all-nighters they had to pull.

Rei is already engaged in a staring game with Taehyun’s cat, Polly, while Taehyun is sprawled on the floor staring vacantly at the ceiling, only half-listening to Jinwoo explain in a nutty stupor how he screwed up his Statistics test.

Taehyun has problems of his own, namely the world lit paper he has yet to submit on Monday which will account for a quarter of his midterm grade, and since he’s almost sure he barely passed the exam, it has to get at least a B. Unfortunately, there are too many distractions at the dorm – _don’t ask_ – and what he has so far is a mediocre C- at best.

In the midst of his increasingly daunting thoughts, Taehyun glances to his right and spots a garment lying underneath his bed. Thinking it’s just one of his shirts, he inches closer and reaches to retrieve it, only to recoil as soon as he sits up, dropping them on the floor when he finds out they’re definitely _not_ his shirt.

This time, there are two – purple boxers and a pair of black briefs.

“What the fuck.” Taehyun shuffles back like the things are toxic – which, to be fair, is not an unreasonable assessment given he has no idea where the hell they came from.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“Are those _yours_?” Taehyun turns to Jinwoo with wide eyes, though he has a feeling they’re not Jinwoo’s either.

When Jinwoo scoots closer to take a look, he frowns immediately. “Of course not. Why would I leave underwear here?”

“Right? They’re not mine either.” Taehyun is up on his feet now; he’d stashed the others in a shoebox he keeps behind his desk. He quickly grabs it, along with a pencil from one of the drawers that he then uses to scoop up the two new pairs before depositing them inside the shoebox with the rest.

“It’s the strangest fucking thing,” Taehyun pushes the box towards Jinwoo who examines the contents with mild disgust and minor interest. “I don’t know where these came from. They keep popping up underneath my bed.”

Jinwoo raises a brow. “Are you sure the guys you’re sleeping with aren’t just leaving them behind?”

“There are no guys, asshole,” Taehyun gives Jinwoo a deserved punch on the shoulder, only eliciting an amused laugh from the other boy. _Ha,_ Taehyun wishes that were the case, but with all his days sucked dry by his pre-thesis work, there is no time to meet anyone and put in all the effort it entails to get them to bed, let alone actually date. He doesn’t need to tell Jinwoo; his friend already knows that Taehyun’s sex life has been nonexistent since the term started.

Just then, they hear a knock on the door and Jinwoo’s face lights up instantly.

Taehyun rolls his eyes. “Have you told him you love him yet?”

“Fuck off,” Jinwoo shoves the box against Taehyun’s chest and it’s his turn to laugh when Jinwoo casually runs a hand through his hair as if Taehyun doesn’t already know he’s only pretending to be calm when he walks to the door to let Seunghoon in.

Jinwoo has had a crush on him since freshman year but wouldn’t own up to it even though anyone who sees him bat his eyelashes at the guy can deduce for themselves. Seunghoon is just as clueless, although sometimes Taehyun catches deliberate, lingering stares at Jinwoo that might mean Seunghoon knows and _feels_ more than he’s willing to admit.

Anyway, not Taehyun’s business.

“Hey guys,” Seunghoon comes inside with more beer and a box of pizza Jinwoo had asked him to buy, along with the promise they’d split the cost between the three of them. Taehyun doesn’t know why Jinwoo is so into someone as stingy as Seunghoon, although his cheekbones and model proportions might have something to do with it.

“Maybe it’s some kind of sick sexual proposition,” Seunghoon suggests after they’d filled him in on the strange contents of the shoebox. They’re seated on Taehyun’s messy floor, alternating between complaining about exams, touching on random topics, and offering theories on the origins of the mysterious underwear.

Taehyun considers it for a moment before he shakes his head. “Then shouldn’t there be a note? Clues as to who left them here? Not to mention there’s the logistical question of how would they even get into my room.”

“Someone with access to the caretaker’s keys?”

“Or maybe it _is_ the caretaker,” Jinwoo says and they all fall silent before the room erupts in boisterous laughter that have Jinwoo and Seunghoon tumbling onto their backs and the cats circling them in interest.

Taehyun groans at the mental image. The thought of their dorm caretaker, who everyone not-so-fondly calls _Filch_ after the Harry Potter character with the same temperament (and frankly, appearance), in any _sexual_ way is all sorts of wrong.

“I’m glad this is all very amusing to you,” Taehyun frowns while Jinwoo and Seunghoon are still rolling on the floor, making silly gestures to communicate without having to stop laughing.

Taehyun would have found it hilarious too, if not for the actual horror of someone who may have the key to his room and access to all his things. Not that he’s convinced of Seunghoon’s theory, but still. It’s creepy as fuck. Maybe he should consider applying to change the locks on his door, but then he’ll have to ask Filch and asking Filch for anything is never a pleasant experience.

“I’m sorry,” Seunghoon says much later, wiping tears at the side of his eyes. Sometimes Taehyun forgets why he doesn’t like hanging out with both Jinwoo and Seunghoon at the same time. He always ends up being the butt of their childish jokes. “I just imagined Filch in his underwear lusting over you and I lost it.”

Taehyun harrumphs and takes a swig from his beer can. He’s lost track of how many he’s had. “Can we please be realistic?”

“A prank?”

“I don’t think leaving underwear in my room is nearly as humiliating for me as for the owner of the underwear.”

 They look at each other and shrug, having lost interest in Taehyun’s dilemma after laughing their asses off, choosing instead to resume their earlier conversation about a B-rated zombie movie Taehyun would never be caught watching. That leaves Taehyun to stare at the shoebox and wonder just what creepy mystery he’s in.

“That dude is at it again,” Jinwoo says after some time, nudging Taehyun’s elbow and cutting his train of thought.

Taehyun listens and recognizes a guitar riff from an 80’s rock song whose title he doesn’t recall but he remembers disliking immensely. The music major from next door is relentless, and often Taehyun has to suffer through more instruments than just the guitar – he can swear he heard him play the harmonica once – like the guy is trying to beat the record for the most noise a person can make with as many things.

It nearly drove Taehyun insane during the first month of the term, but he hates confrontations and decided to go straight to management to complain about his next-door-neighbor. Not that it did any good because after just a week of silence, the guy was back to annoying the shit out of Taehyun. And what’s worse is, nobody else seemed to be bothered by it.

“I’m tired of complaining. It’s take care of your own shit in this dorm, which is why I always have earplugs on.”

“We can always drown out the noise with better music,” Seunghoon says rather excitedly, standing up and swaying a little (he can never hold his liquor well) to connect his phone to Taehyun’s speakers. A Rihanna song suddenly plays and Jinwoo practically leaps from the floor to start grinding to it.

Taehyun frowns, this definitely isn’t any better than the guitar solo next door so he takes out his earplugs anyway and settles for watching Seunghoon and Jinwoo dance like idiots in the silence.

It’s more hilarious without music and a few more cans later, Taehyun is a little light-headed, stroking Polly and laughing to his heart’s content.

 

 

“Mystery solved!”

Taehyun pulls down his headphones and looks up from his laptop when Jinwoo’s head pops through the door, Polly by Taehyun’s thigh stirring at the presence of a visitor.

“What?”

“I said mystery solved,” Jinwoo repeats, taking a step inside the room without the invite. Taehyun rubs his eyes and sets the laptop aside. Jinwoo’s mood is far too perky for Taehyun right now.

“How many times have I told you to knock? I could have been naked.”

“Heh. Nothing I’ve never seen before. Remember sophomore year when you got really drunk on vodka shooters at a party and started stripping to Beyonce’s song?”

Taehyun scowls, shaking off the memory of his sordid past. “Just tell me why you’re here.”

“You know Jiho, right? From the fourth floor – the one with the tattoos? Well, he told me that his roommate Kyung told him that Gunhee mentioned his cousin has a friend who says his underwear keeps going missing.”

Taehyun squints, unsure if it’s because he’s been working on his paper for three hours straight and his brain is too tired to process a word of that or Jinwoo just told him nothing in the most painstaking way. “Come again?”

“Jiho said that Kyung told him that Gunhee men-“

“The bottom line,” Taehyun interrupts.

“Someone somewhere is missing his underwear,” Jinwoo declares. “You have underwear in your room that don’t belong to you. Surely there’s a connection.”

That _is_ odd and a bit too coincidental to brush off. “But if that’s true, how did his underwear end up in _my_ room?”

Jinwoo opens his mouth to answer, but says nothing and bites down on his lower lip as he deliberates this, his expression looking more glum by the second. “Okay, mystery _not_ solved. You just burst my bubble.”

“Can you ask Jiho to ask Kyung to–” Taehyun stops himself and sighs. “Just find out who’s missing his underwear then maybe we can solve this. Now go, I have a deadline.”

“Yeah sure because I live to serve you,” Jinwoo gives him a face as he walks out, pausing by the doorway to turn back to Taehyun. “Maybe you should be more guilty about hassling me and just put up a lost and found sign on your door.”

“Or maybe I should just tell Seunghoon–“

Taehyun doesn’t get to finish the sentence because the door slams shut and he hears someone on the other side very audibly cursing his name. _Works every time._ He smirks and turns back to his laptop, sighing at the words swimming in his vision as he pulls his headphones up to block off the piano melody wafting from the other room.

The few seconds he catches sound pretty, Taehyun thinks, which is an improvement from the chords the guy had been piecing together earlier today. Taehyun was in the mood to listen when he was eating his breakfast of leftover chicken and stale pizza from last night, _because sometimes the music isn’t bad_ , and found himself actually intrigued by the song he seems to be working on.

Taehyun pushes the thought aside and gets back to Oscar Wilde.

 

 

The commotion sets off on Wednesday at around five o’clock, right after Taehyun’s last class for the day. He’s lazing on his bed, checking his SNS accounts when he hears banging on his wall and someone clearly shouting for someone else to stop. He pauses to listen closely – there’s chasing in the hallway involved, too – but unlike the other dormers who are probably checking it out by now, Taehyun just shakes his head, not curious in the least. He’s willing to bet it’s just a bunch of guys goofing around and throwing each other’s condoms away or something stupid like that.

But things take an unexpected turn when minutes later, there’s banging on Taehyun’s door, and he’s frowning as he pushes himself off the bed to see just what the hell is going on.

He certainly doesn’t expect a half-naked guy on his doorstep, hair damp and only a towel wrapped around his waist that looks to be on the verge of falling off. It takes a while for Taehyun to process the angry look on his face – or the fact that he’s panting like he’d just gone for a run.

It takes even longer for him to recognize who it is from the very few times he’d seen glimpses of him around the dorm (the guy has a reputation for never leaving his room much).

It’s the music major dude. The one whose room is next to Taehyun’s and who’s noisy as fuck.

Taehyun inwardly grimaces, then. He can’t imagine what he must want from him.

The guy looks down and sighs, pausing as if to catch his breath before meeting Taehyun’s gaze once more.

“Your cat has been stealing my underwear,” he says through gritted teeth, right at the moment Polly slinks into the room with a pair of Spongebob boxers clamped in her mouth, looking every bit the underwear thief that she is.

 

Taehyun doesn’t know how long he stands there with his mouth slightly open, stunned to silence.

His cat is a pervert. A pervert who’s been stealing the guy next door’s underwear! _Could there be anything more humiliating?_

“I said your cat–“

“I’m sorry,” Taehyun cuts him off absently, eyes flitting from the guy to Polly who simply marches across the room and disappears underneath Taehyun’s bed. _Oh my god. This is a nightmare._ “Shit, I’m sorry!”

Taehyun leaves the door open and rushes to drop on all fours, finding himself in a fight with Polly who refuses to give the boxers back. Taehyun can’t even imagine how ridiculous he must look right now, flailing on the floor, but this is slightly better than having to face his neighbor at the moment.

When Taehyun was trying to figure out what the deal is with those stray boxers, _this_ definitely didn’t cross his mind.

He manages to yank the underwear from Polly’s mouth, but not without causing a massive tear on the hem that has Taehyun cursing under his breath. This is getting ludicrous by the second.

When he gets up, the guy is still standing by the doorframe, arms folded against his chest more out of trying to cover himself rather than come across angry. He still looks somewhat displeased, but the pink in his cheeks could only mean he’s embarrassed by all of this, too. Taehyun spots a number of nosy dormers over his shoulder so he makes a quick decision to pull the guy inside his room and close the door behind him.

Taehyun flashes him another sheepish look then holds out his underwear. “It’s torn. I’ll pay.”

He practically snatches the boxers from Taehyun’s hand and hides them behind his back as though that would make Taehyun unsee everything. He wonders if the guy is actually underwear-less underneath that towel and still chased Polly through the hallway. He would have thought it hilariously cute if not for the next words to come out of the guy’s mouth.

“Your cat is a menace.”

Taehyun tries very hard not to scowl at the insult since technically Polly, unbeknownst to him, has a proclivity for stealing men’s underwear (god he hopes there’s no psychological correlation to pet owners and pets in that regard). Taehyun holds off on the comment at the tip of his tongue that he’s a _menace_ himself because of all the noise he makes and instead, Taehyun goes for his most apologetic look.

“Again, I’m sorry. She’s usually well-behaved.” Taehyun turns to glare at Polly who is reclined on the bed innocently.

“Well then manage her. I’m already spending a fortune on new ones.”

Before Taehyun could reply, the guy already has a hand on the doorknob like he couldn’t wait to get out of there. _Good riddance,_ Taehyun thinks as he steps out. When the door closes, Taehyun proceeds to launch himself onto the bed and bury his face under a pillow, screaming, because he’s never been more embarrassed in his life.

 

 

“Kang Seungyoon,” Jinwoo says as soon as he pushes through Taehyun’s door a little later that evening. “The guy who’s missing his-“

“Too late,” Taehyun cuts him off, flushing at the reminder. Then again his neighbor’s name is new information so Jinwoo’s mission wasn’t completely a waste. “He already paid me a visit. Apparently, Polly has been a naughty girl,” Taehyun pokes Polly’s stomach once, which she ignores. “She’s been stealing his underwear.”

“No fucking way,” Jinwoo laughs as he pulls out his phone, itching to tell Seunghoon about it. If this story ever spreads, Taehyun isn’t sure if he can live with the shame. Rumors have a tendency to get out of hand here. Maybe it isn’t too late to send Polly back home, let his brother Donghyun take care of her instead. If Taehyun doesn’t think she’s the only one keeping him grounded in this dorm he’d have done it the second _Kang Seungyoon_ closed that door.

“I have more gossip fodder for you to talk about with lover boy,” Taehyun rolls his eyes at Jinwoo who’s beaming at his screen. “This Kang Seungyoon is the noisy ass music major next door.”

“ _NO FUCKING WAY,”_ Jinwoo has his mouth open now and Taehyun could almost see the cogs turning in his brain through his large doe eyes.

Taehyun shakes his head. “No.”

“Is he cute?”

“Don’t start with me.”

“It’s an honest question.”

Taehyun thinks back to the moment when he opened that door and if he hadn’t been confused by the commotion he’d have thought _okay_ maybe he doesn’t look too bad. He had nice skin and his lips were undeniably pretty and cherry-like and his eyes were maybe breathtaking if he wasn’t glaring at Taehyun.

“Oh god he is,” Jinwoo says when Taehyun doesn’t respond right away. “This is so cute!”

“Please don’t project your romantic frustrations at me,” Taehyun grumbles, sinking further into his bed. He suddenly has the urge to sleep and maybe never wake up. “Worry about your own complicated entanglements. And confess to Seunghoon already so I wouldn’t have to deal with your cranky ass when he so much as speaks to anyone else.”

“Look at you getting all defensive and chatty! I’m on to something!”

The pillow smacks Jinwoo’s face but his friend remains unfazed and plants himself at the foot of Taehyun’s bed, wearing that expression he always has whenever he’s neck deep in some campy romantic k-drama.

Taehyun has a feeling Jinwoo isn’t going to shut up about Kang Seungyoon any time soon.

 

 

Taehyun is nervous and a little jumpy and he makes sweeping inspections on both sides of the hallway several times before he turns to the door again. He only has to knock, he tells himself, but the task seemed a lot easier when he was in his own room deciding whether to go through with it or not.

Maybe if Jinwoo didn’t fill his head with all his ‘ _meet-ugly is the cutest trope’_ bullshit then Taehyun would be less awkward about standing outside Seungyoon’s door with a box of his underwear.

He reminds himself that all he has to do is hand it to him as coolly as he can and leave before he has to make conversation. That will shake off some of the guilt that has been eating at him for three days now. If the guy has to spend more money on underwear, Taehyun refuses for that to be in his conscience.

 _It’s not guilt,_ a voice at the back of his head says that sounds eerily like drunk Jinwoo. _You just want to see him-_

It _is_ guilt. Taehyun breathes out.

It takes a minute more before his knuckles meet the wooden surface, lightly at first, then progressively louder when no one answers. It’s a split second before panic courses through him again and at that moment he changes his mind, ready to flee (hopefully Seungyoon isn’t in) but to his horror, the door squeaks open, revealing Seungyoon with bed hair and very droopy eyes.

He’s also glaringly topless again you’d think Polly has been stealing his shirts instead of his boxers.

“Oh shit I woke you,” Taehyun blurts out, none too smoothly.

Seungyoon’s eyes are out of focus, squinting, and when he seems to have recognized Taehyun, he runs a hand through his hair and opens the door just a bit wider.

Taehyun isn’t sure if that’s an invitation to come in – not that he wants to, really – so he stays put and watches Seungyoon amble across his room and grab the first shirt he sees. Taehyun should really look away because he’s a little bothered by the sharp shoulder blades, not to mention the venus dimples that are _too much_. He doesn’t though, and just swallows thickly, keeping his face as neutral as possible.

He can’t believe this sex drought is turning him into a pervert, too.

“It’s okay. I should have woken up by now anyway,” Seungyoon replies belatedly, fully clothed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the heels of his hands. “What’s up?”

“I forgot to give you something.”

Seungyoon tilts his head curiously, his eyes dropping to the box Taehyun has in his hands. Taehyun takes a step inside and pushes it towards Seungyoon before backing off straight away so he remains standing outside Seungyoon’s room.

Seungyoon opens it and Taehyun thinks he sees a small smile before it’s gone when he looks up at Taehyun again. “You kept them.” It sounds like a mixture of a question and pleasant surprise.

“I thought they were my friend’s,” Taehyun says, which isn’t entirely a lie. “So... uhh, I’m sorry again. That’s it.”

Taehyun settles for a very awkward half smile when he takes another step back. He couldn’t wait to get back to his room and _breathe._

“Wait,” Seungyoon stops him. “Come in for a sec.”

Taehyun raises his brows – _no no no_ , coming in isn’t part of the plan. Why is this Seungyoon guy suddenly so friendly and welcoming _,_ especially when he seemed pretty miffed about Polly?

Even more unexpectedly, Seungyoon smiles when Taehyun still doesn’t move. It’s genuine and kind of cute and _damn Jinwoo for planting things in his head._  

“Taehyun. I won’t bite, come in.”

_And how in the world does he know his name?_

“How do you know my name?” Taehyun asks when he takes a cautious step inside. It seemed rude to look into Seungyoon’s room when he was outside but now that he’s in, Taehyun immediately notices the instruments lined in one side of the room, taking up about half of the space, which includes a desktop attached to a small electronic keyboard. It’s exactly how Taehyun imagined his next-door-neighbor’s space would look like. Not that he’d been imagining him a lot, no.

“You don’t know mine?” Seungyoon quirks a brow.

“I – “ Taehyun pauses. What’s the harm in a little white lie? “No.”

“Oh,” he seems rather surprised. “It’s Seungyoon. Kang Seungyoon. I would have thought you’d know the name of the guy you’ve been complaining about to Filch.”

_Shit._

_Shit shit shit._

“Don’t worry about it,” Seungyoon adds when he sees Taehyun tense. “To be honest I should have wondered right away why you were the only one complaining, then maybe we wouldn’t even be in this mess.”

 _Huh?_ This time it’s Taehyun who tilts his head, eyes flitting to the room’s walls that are covered with what looks to be gray foam with ridges. Seungyoon’s room is _soundproofed_. _Then how come he still keeps hearing his music?_

As though reading his mind, Seungyoon walks to one corner of the room and motions for him to follow, and then he pushes the dorm-provided closet slightly. Taehyun walks over and sees what Seungyoon is pointing at: a hole in the wall. It’s also blocked from Taehyun’s view in his own room by the same closet, and it’s exactly just wide enough for a cat of Polly’s size to squeeze right through. Taehyun’s eyes widen.

“Oh my god. Did my cat do that?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been meaning to tell you about it, but I still felt guilty about how I acted the other day,” Seungyoon replies, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. “I was just a little freaked out by all of it. It’s a good thing you came by.”

He seems earnest, if not a little embarrassed and Taehyun admits it’s kind of endearing, given that he’s the bigger victim here.

“No, it’s okay. My cat’s fault,” Taehyun’s lips twitch into a small smile. Seungyoon returns it. There’s an easy yet magnetic quality to it that makes Taehyun’s stomach lurch just a tiny bit.

“And sorry about the music,” Seungyoon continues. “I really thought you were exaggerating when Filch told me to tone it down. I kind of hated you for it.”

“I hated you for the music, too, so we’re even.” Taehyun leaves out the part where whenever exams roll in, he feels like stabbing the wall with a knife because of all the noise he makes. It’s too morbid for this conversation, and Taehyun _likes_ this conversation.

“But your cat has been stealing my underwear so?”

“I gave them back. We’re still even.”

Seungyoon’s laugh rings in the soundproofed room and for the first time Taehyun thinks maybe he wouldn’t mind the noise as much.

 

 

The next day when Taehyun unexpectedly finds Seungyoon on his doorstep, he has Polly wrapped in his arms and he’s wearing a sheepish smile. He’s also wearing a shirt for a change, which as changes go, is kind of disappointing. _Kind of._

“Did Polly go into your room again?” Taehyun asks, already reaching out to take her from Seungyoon.

“I stopped her before she can make a beeline for the laundry basket.”

“I really don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Taehyun frowns.

“I actually Googled it and there’s a famous cat burglar in New Zealand,” Seungyoon starts, there’s a twinkle in his eyes as he takes out his phone and holds it up for Taehyun to see. It’s a photo of a Siamese cat surrounded by men’s underwear. “It steals them from the neighbors. They couldn’t explain it, too.”

Taehyun presses his lips together to stop himself from grinning, not because of the absurd piece of news Seungyoon had somehow unearthed or by the _cat burglar_ pun, but by how thrilled Seungyoon looks to share the story. Apparently who Taehyun thought was a brooding musician next door who never comes out of his room isn’t at all brooding. In fact, everything about Seungyoon is light.

“I wonder why he’s only out for your underwear though.”

He shrugs. “Maybe she likes the smell.”

“Gross,” Taehyun scrunches his nose, pretending to shield Polly from him, making Seungyoon laugh.

“Hey, I’ll have you know I smell really nice!”

Taehyun puts on an unimpressed expression even though he _could_ smell Seungyoon from where he’s standing and he smells like mint citrus and a hint of leather and yes, it’s very nice. He doesn’t need to know that though.

“Maybe we should tell Filch to do something about the hole,” Taehyun says instead. “I’d hate to keep inconveniencing you like this.

“Yeah we should,” Seungyoon nods. “There’s the issue of the noise too, so,” he trails off then strokes Polly’s head. Polly leans into his touch, which surprises Taehyun; Polly isn’t the violent type but she’s never this friendly to other people either. “It’s strange but I think I’m going to miss her.”

“Polly?”

“Yeah.”

Taehyun chews on his bottom lip as Seungyoon keeps petting Polly and the more he does, the more she’s trying to wiggle out from Taehyun’s arms and towards Seungyoon. This cat is full on flirting with Seungyoon now and Taehyun doesn’t know how to feel about it. Maybe Polly is less of a pervert and more of a kitty in love.

“Well you can always visit her if you want,” Taehyun blurts out all too recklessly, because now that he thinks about it, that invitation can be taken differently if one is dirty-minded like Jinwoo. Taehyun hopes to god his face is nonchalant enough that Seungyoon doesn’t misinterpret his suggestion. “I mean, you know, you can bring her into your room. You don’t have to be in here, this is my room. _Your_ room.” He adds embarrassingly; he’ll just scream into his bed again later.

Seungyoon bites back a smile and shrugs. “Maybe I will, since I live close by.”

“I heard,” Taehyun responds to his attempt at banter and Seungyoon grins when Taehyun waves Polly’s paw goodbye after excusing himself to go back to his room.

 

 

“You’ve completely fallen for him, haven’t you?”

Taehyun ignores Jinwoo and hastens his steps out of the store, slipping the newly-purchased item in his bag like it were something he ought to hide. Perhaps he should have done it earlier because he realizes now that it was a mistake to buy it while he was with Jinwoo. Then again, he didn’t know when he would have time to visit Hongdae again.

“Real couples buy underwear for each other well into their second year, you’ve met this guy last week.”

“Stop being a dick.”

“You like Seungyoon.”

“Polly ruined his boxers, it’s only right I replace them.”

“You know, I haven’t seen you genuinely be interested in a guy. Mostly you just settle for whoever is the hottest among your pursuers.”

Taehyun huffs as they turn the corner towards the bus stop. Jinwoo is a good friend but he can be insufferable whenever they’re on the topic of Taehyun’s relationships, a problem Taehyun is convinced stems from his own dissatisfaction with his. Jinwoo has double the number of Taehyun’s _pursuers_ but he’s too hung up on Seunghoon to give them the time of day.

Misery loves company and Taehyun thinks Jinwoo just wants him to have a Seunghoon of his own. Tough luck because Seungyoon may be attractive as fuck but it’s not at all like that with Seungyoon.

Not at all.

Jinwoo is still talking about Seungyoon when they board the bus. Taehyun not so subtly takes out his earphones from his pocket.

“Jihoon told me Seungyoon got out of a relationship last year,” Jinwoo says, and Taehyun finds himself pausing, curious. Not because he’s interested in Seungyoon or anything, most people are normally drawn to this kind of gossip like a moth to a flame, regardless of who it’s about.

“But they stayed friends. His ex is actually part of Jihoon’s crew. I think his name is Mino. You know, Gunhee’s cousin?”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

Jinwoo shrugs. “Anyway. I’m just telling you this so you know that you have a chance with Seungyoon since he’s very gay. I figured you must have been dying to find out since you’re in love with him and all. You’re welcome.”

When the bus slows to a stop at an intersection, Taehyun doesn’t hesitate to stand up and transfer to an empty seat farthest from Jinwoo. As for that new information, Taehyun keeps it tucked at the back of his head.

 

When Taehyun arrives, he hears the muffled sound of guitar strumming, like Seungyoon had made an effort to be quieter. It’s kind of sweet, actually. Taehyun supposes now is the best time to give him what he bought, but frankly he wants to deliver it without having to put himself in any more embarrassing situations (he can imagine how handing Seungyoon underwear can be _very_ awkward) which he’s beginning to think happens a lot when he’s around Seungyoon.

In a stroke of inspiration, he grabs a post-it and scribbles on it, then sticks the orange note on the plastic packaging. He’s been avoiding the hole in the wall because the thought of seeing through Seungyoon’s room is quite unnerving, but today it’s proven to have more use other than Polly’s escape route when Taehyun slips the underwear through it.

_It’s not the exact boxers you own but since I owe you one._

_(Spongebob, really?) –NTH_

He presses an ear on the surface, waits till the music has stopped before Taehyun knocks on the wall. A few seconds later, Taehyun hears footsteps and backs off so he wouldn’t be seen should Seungyoon take a peek. He waits – _he’s not really sure what he’s waiting for_ – but after some time he sees a hand slip though the wall, holding what looks to be a can. Taehyun smiles when he picks it up, reading the note stuck on top.

_You really didn’t have to, but thanks._

_(Spongebob is a classic, stop lying to yourself.)_

_(I didn’t want to send this empty-handed so enjoy my last beer.) –KSY_

 

 

Taehyun is on his desk when he hears knocking that isn’t from the door, and he’s surprised when he finds a can of tuna on the floor below the hole, on it another note.

_I passed by a convenience store and bought this for Polly._

Taehyun rushes back to his desk and begins to write. He really shouldn’t be this eager but he can’t help it.

_Nothing for her owner?_

Not a minute later, Taehyun sees a triangle _kimbap_ drop on the floor. He clamps a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound of him laughing.

_I only bought two, you should be touched._

After looking around his room, Taehyun moves towards his mini fridge and takes out a can of soda, attaching another note.

_Don’t choke on the other one._

 

_Taehyun. Did you hear that? What do you think?_

_What, you mean the song you’ve been playing for the past two hours? Haha, just kidding. It’s good._

_Are you sure?_

_Yeah. It’s pleasant to the ears. It sounds like spring, actually._

Taehyun picks up the pack of jelly worms that thuds on the floor after that. No note, just a yellow post-it with a smiley face.

_I saw Filch in the hallway and he said someone’s going to come by tomorrow to fix the hole._

Taehyun gives the note look a long, hard look and sighs. The _one_ time Filch decides to be a responsible caretaker is the one time Taehyun was counting on his affinity for delays. Filch hates him, that’s got to be it.

_That’s good, then. No more missing underwear!_

_And no more noise for you!_

He looks at the small orange pad, at a loss for how to reply.

_~~Actually, this sucks.~~ _

_~~Don’t laugh but I’ll miss this. Haha.~~ _

_~~Don’t be a stranger.~~ _

Taehyun doesn’t realize it’s taken him a few minutes of writing and crumpling the post-its until he hears walking from the other side of the wall and a door opening and closing. Seungyoon must have left. _Oh well._ Taehyun tosses the pad on his desk and throws himself face first onto the bed instead.

 

“How many times has it been now?”

Taehyun doesn’t answer right away, even when he knows the exact number. It’s always better not to seem too eager around his friends who will pounce at any given opportunity to tease him.

“Four? Five?” He pops a fry into his mouth and looks down at his phone, feigning disinterest at the conversation by playing a losing game of Steppy Pants. It’s six, actually. But neither of them need to know that.

“And?”

“And what?” He takes a bite of his sandwich leisurely. More fries. Taehyun has perfected the art of hanging out with Jinwoo and Seunghoon without actually being present, something he usually uses when they go deep into a conversation Taehyun feels like an outsider to. An ability that now comes handy because they can’t seem to stop prying into his personal life.

“Do you two ever talk?”

“No. He just takes Polly and goes back to his room. There was one time he said he liked my shirt. Everybody likes The Beatles.”

“But you said you were exchanging post-its like a couple of virgins flirting?”

Jinwoo lets out a loud wail after Taehyun gives his shin a kick under the table. “It wasn’t flirting.”

“ _Huh_.”

The curious tone to Seunghoon’s voice actually makes Taehyun glance up. Seunghoon is already looking at Jinwoo with furrowed brows.

“That doesn’t sound promising at all.”

Taehyun simply juts out his bottom lip and nods. “That’s why I told you to stop believing shorty. He’s making stuff up.”

“First of all, _asshole,”_ Jinwoo growls and Taehyun feels just a tinge of satisfaction that he knows exactly how to push Jinwoo’s buttons. “I’m average-sized. You’re the abnormally tall ones.”

“It’s cute when you get defensive. Like a tiny, angry puppy.”

“ _Secondly,”_ Jinwoo says through gritted teeth, bunching a page from Taehyun’s notebook and aiming at his head. Taehyun easily swats it away and it lands on the table next to theirs occupied by a group of freshmen who merely bow their heads slightly at the presence of upperclassmen. Taehyun flashes them a peace sign then goes back to his game. He’s failed about thirty times now.

“There _is_ something going on,” Jinwoo continues. “Seungyoon wouldn’t keep going back if he wasn’t interested.”

“The only one he’s interested in is my cat,” Taehyun tries for nonchalance but even he can detect the bitterness in his voice.

Seungyoon had taken him up on his offer and has been dropping by his room to borrow Polly. The first time surprised him; he didn’t expect Seungyoon to be back at his doorstep so soon after their last correspondence via post-its, very eager to cat-sit. Truthfully, Taehyun may have been expecting _something else_ when he saw him _,_ but Seungyoon only had heart eyes for Polly and Taehyun would never go in between love like that.

It was disappointing but he had to admit, it was nice to see him. The gap between visits are getting closer, too. First it was a once in a week, then twice, until somehow Seungyoon has been dropping every other day.

It’s no use denying he’s developed somewhat of a crush on his next-door-neighbor but only because he’s cute and nice to Polly and pretty much the only guy Taehyun interacts with outside of his circle that consists of Jinwoo, Seunghoon, and couple of his classmates.

And he makes good music and has the prettiest lips he’s ever seen on a guy, so.

Which makes it all the more frustrating that they’ve exchanged more words to each other through writing silly notes than talking face to face.

“I can’t imagine being jealous of a cat,” Jinwoo offers, grimacing. “Polly probably naps on his abs and nuzzles his smooth neck, and sits in between his long legs like some queen. I’m sure you want that life for yourself, Taehyun.”

Taehyun actually laughs because it’s funny in a depressing way. Like a cruel, ironic joke.

“Do you think if I start stealing Seungyoon’s underwear, he’d want to pet me too?”

This time, all three of them end up cackling because Seunghoon countered with a _pussy_ joke, and Jinwoo alluded to bending like a cat, and crass sex jokes are never not funny.

 

 

Before Taehyun opens the door, he scoops up Polly from the bed knowing exactly who’s behind it. No surprise, it’s Seungyoon, and he’s wearing a thin black shirt that shows off his perfect collar bones, smelling of soap and floral shampoo. Taehyun smiles despite himself.

“Polly, behave today,” he says like he does every time, handing her to Seungyoon then stepping back to close the door. These exchanges are always brief and business-like and Taehyun’s starting to get accustomed to it.

“Taehyun.”

Taehyun stops and looks up, surprised that Seungyoon is initiating conversation. Usually he just smiles and goes on his way. Taehyun tries to hide the enthusiasm in his face.

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering if, uhh, if Polly likes other cats? I mean, would she have issues being around others?”

“It depends, really,” Taehyun replies, unsure why Seungyoon is asking such a question. “He likes my friend’s cat though, so maybe it’ll be okay. Why do you ask?”

Before Seungyoon can reply, Taehyun’s answer comes in the form of another guy falling beside him holding a cat of his own. He’s tall and tanned and built and standing way too close to Seungyoon. Taehyun hates him already.

“Hey,” he nods briefly at Taehyun’s direction and Taehyun tries to school his face when the guy turns to Seungyoon, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It turns out I can’t stay, Jihoon just messaged me. I’ll listen to the track tomorrow, yeah?”

“Oh,” Seungyoon says, looking at him then at Taehyun. “Alright. By the way, Taehyun, this is Mino. Mino, Taehyun. Polly’s owner.”

“Cool. Polly is really pretty,” Mino tells him with a cloying smile and a pat to Polly’s head. Taehyun has half a mind to swat his hand away but he stays put. “And this furball right here is Jhonny,” he gives his own cat a playful wiggle (Taehyun can swear the cat just scowled). “Play date some other time then? Nice meeting you, Taehyun.”

Taehyun can’t even respond because Mino rushes out, clearly in a hurry.

“You’ve been arranging play dates for my cat?” Taehyun asks when he turns back to Seungyoon. He doesn’t mean to sound accusatory but Mino threw him off just a bit. If he’s friends with Jihoon, he could be the _ex_ Jinwoo was talking about. Not that it’s any of Taehyun’s business.

“I didn’t know Mino would bring his cat over. I just thought it might be fun if Polly was there, too,” he says cautiously, like he’s trying to decipher Taehyun’s expression. “But if you’re not comfortable with it, then I won’t do it again. I’m really sorry.”

Taehyun takes one look at Seungyoon’s guilty face and something crumbles inside. _Damn him._

“No, it’s okay. It only surprised me, that’s all,” Taehyun says sheepishly, mentally scolding himself for his own overreaction. Why can’t he be cool and collected around Seungyoon for once? Conversations are always awkward and he can’t figure out why.

“Have fun with just Polly I guess.”

Seungyoon gives him another one of his smiles that makes Taehyun want to look away because he really doesn’t want to be caught blushing. “I always do.”

 

 

It’s a good thing he’s quite the academic hardworker because Taehyun expends all of his energy focusing on his classes to distract himself from the fact that his silly crush on his neighbor is starting to become more than that.

The misplaced jealousy is one thing, but starting to look forward to Seungyoon arriving at his doorstep every time, his heart hammering, wondering what he’ll wear or how he’ll smell, it’s becoming _too much_. That’s something that doesn’t happen to Taehyun, ever. He needs to snap out of it.

But trust Jinwoo and Seunghoon, who refuse to deal with their own issues, to always insert themselves in Taehyun’s. Is _he_ really the world’s best pastime right now?

“You’re practically sharing custody of a child.”

“Except you never slept together which is kind of sad.”

“It’s the sexual tension,” Jinwoo adds. “That’s why you two are always awkward. Clearly you want to jump each other.”

“Why don’t you just swoop in and kiss him, see how he reacts? It’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

Taehyun looks up from his notes, frowning. When he called Seunghoon over to help him with his maths, he didn’t expect Jinwoo to tag along. They’ve made no progress on the maths front and they’re one hiss away from being kicked out of the library.

“For the last time, he’s only interested in Polly.”

“Why are you so clueless, Nam? Maybe if you try and find out if he likes you back, you wouldn’t be so mopey. You’re just scared to go for it because you haven’t liked anyone this much.”

“Fine.” Taehyun throws his hands up in the air, knowing he’ll have better chances at winning the lottery than for the two of them to drop the subject. “I like him. So what? He’s hanging out with his ex. That’s _if_ they’re still exes, what if they got back together?”

“Then ask him. He practically owns half of Polly now, that should have been your excuse to get to know him better. Think about it. What else do you know about him other than his name, that he’s a music major, and that he has a strange attachment for your perverted cat?”

Taehyun mulls it over and realizes that other than his knowledge of Seungyoon’s underwear preference and mastery of Seungyoon’s upper body, he knows next to nothing about the guy.

“We’re not _friends,_ ” Taehyun counters, sounding unconvinced, even to himself. “I don’t need to know anything else about him other than he’s good to Polly. Besides, this is better. I’ll get over it faster. I don’t like to hold on to crushes for _years,”_ he eyes them both and that effectively shuts them up.

                                                                                                                                          

 

Taehyun’s room is ear-piercingly silent. It has been for weeks now. He misses the music. Or even just the noise Seungyoon makes when he’s playing around with his instruments. Truthfully, a part of him wants to punch the newly-minted wall so they can resume their exchange of post-its like a couple of virgins.

If Polly steals his underwear again, he can just give them back _then_ they’ll have something to talk about.

Anything is better than this.

 

 

Taehyun’s nap is interrupted by loud knocking at the door. He shouldn’t have to be disturbed on Saturdays. He groans; maybe if he pretends he doesn’t hear it, whoever it is will just leave. But a minute later when the knocking persists, he begrudgingly drags himself out of bed and smoothes his hair, giving up halfway – he’ll look like shit anyway – and opens the door.

He’s jolted awake when he sees Seungyoon. He wasn’t expecting him to come by since he’d already spent time with Polly yesterday. As much as he likes him, he can’t borrow his cat _everyday._

Taehyun runs a hand over his face, wishing he’d taken more time to look decent. He furrows his brows anyway. “Seungyoon. Do you want to play with Polly today?”

Seungyoon doesn’t answer and just stares at him for a long stretch of silence it’s beginning to become uncomfortable again. Taehyun is already self-conscious of his appearance as it is.

“Is anything wrong?”

Still no response. Taehyun is about to turn around to just give him Polly when Seungyoon suddenly slides a hand around Taehyun’s waist and tugs him close. Taehyun lets out a gasp, taken completely by surprise. A second later, Seungyoon’s lips are pressed on his, soft and a little chapped and _fuck_ Taehyun can’t help the shiver that runs through him when Seungyoon pushes even closer.

_What the hell is happening?_

It takes Taehyun a while to react, his hands finding their way to Seungyoon’s shirt, bunching fistfuls because his knees are getting wobbly. Just as he’s about to melt into it, Seungyoon pulls back, his face red, lips even redder. Taehyun swallows the lump in his throat, his mind racing. He could hear his heart thundering against his chest, this is _not_ the wake up call he’d been expecting.

“Every single time I come here, I think,” Seungyoon starts, his voice quivering slightly. “Maybe today is the day I tell this guy I don’t really want to hang out with his cat. What I _really_ want is to do what I just did and come inside. But every single time, I chicken out.”

Taehyun stares at Seungyoon’s face at an incredibly close proximity and sees how uneasy Seungyoon looks, like he couldn’t believe himself that he had the gall to kiss him and say those words to Taehyun. It’s terribly shy and incredibly sweet that Taehyun forgets for a while that he’s supposed to respond.

“You... don’t really like my cat?” Taehyun wants to kick himself in the face. _What kind of dumbass response is that?_

Seungyoon actually breaks into a smile that doesn’t ease the flutters in Taehyun’s stomach. “I really like Polly. I just... might have been using her to see you.”

Taehyun isn’t sure if that kiss just caused his brain to short-circuit because all he can come up with is a measly: “She can hear you.”

Seungyoon lets out a nervous chuckle, dropping his head and fidgeting in place. Seungyoon is really  nervous as fuck. It’s quite possibly the cutest thing Taehyun has ever seen.

“What made you go through with it this time?” Taehyun finds himself saying finally. Seungyoon deserves at least proper responses if he took all this courage. Also because if Seungyoon doesn’t start talking Taehyun might just diffuse the tension by initiating another kiss this time.

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” Seungyoon replies, meeting Taehyun’s eyes. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since I barged in here in a towel.”

“I remember,” Taehyun’s lips twitch into a crooked smile. He thinks maybe he’s blushing, too.

_Seungyoon likes him. More than Polly. Ha._

There’s another long pause between them and finally Taehyun has gathered enough wits to be sure he isn’t just dreaming this and Seungyoon has in fact kissed him and confessed his feelings.

“Well?” Taehyun raises a brow.

Seungyoon looks at him in confusion, as if he’d been the one waiting for Taehyun to say something else.

Taehyun sighs. “You said you wanted to come in, right? After you kiss me?”

“Oh.”

He steps aside, giving enough room for Seungyoon to pass. As soon as he does, Taehyun shuts the door, _locks it,_ and turns around. Seungyoon hasn’t taken another step when Taehyun pulls him by the shirt, snaking his arms around his waist and fastening Seungyoon there. Seungyoon’s eyes widen and they’re still as breathtaking as the first time Taehyun had seen them.

Taehyun takes a few seconds to just take in Seungyoon’s face from this close. He really is so attractive. _Fuck._ How was Taehyun able to resist this for so long?

“You have no idea how much I want this, too,” Taehyun says, taking pleasure in the way Seungyoon’s face lights up as soon as the words roll off his tongue. “I was jealous of Polly getting to nap on your abs and nuzzle your neck and sleep between your legs.”

Seungyoon’s smile fades, suddenly looking very taken aback. It takes a lot for Taehyun not to laugh. “Polly did what?”

“Nothing,” Taehyun grins, closing what little distance is left between their lips.

 

“Your boxers,” Taehyun looks up from where he’s hovered over Seungyoon’s stomach, panting, skin ablaze, but he can’t not notice and bring up how Seungyoon had worn the ones he bought. “Spongebob, really?”

“I decided they’re my lucky underwear,” Seungyoon grins. “I guess they are, since you’re over there now.”

Taehyun rolls his eyes but responds by dipping down to press a kiss just above the waistband. Seungyoon lets out a stifled groan that crawls underneath Taehyun’s skin and lingers there. He wants to hear so much more of that beautiful voice in all its forms.

One thing had led to another and all that pent up sexual tension ended up with them without shirts on, entangled in Taehyun’s sheets, kissing, moaning against each other’s mouth, touching, touching everywhere. Taehyun for one can’t get over Seungyoon’s hands and how they stroke and press parts of his body in a way that makes him want to scream each time. Taehyun is like a bomb about to be set off and Seungyoon is the trigger.

That is, until they both nearly jump when Polly leaps onto the bed, squeezing in between Seungyoon and Taehyun. They look at each other for what to do and very carefully, Taehyun starts pulling Polly off of Seungyoon’s torso, putting him back on the floor. It’s not even a second before Polly does the same thing again so he’s on Seungyoon and basically cock-blocking his owner.

“I think she doesn’t want us to do it,” Seungyoon sucks in his lower lip, his expression halfway between tormented and amused. Taehyun can feel all the fire starting to fizzle out when Polly begins meowing and in all the years he’s had Polly, it’s the first time Taehyun doesn’t find it cute. He revisits the idea of sending her back home.

“She’s the worst cat ever,” Taehyun huffs, peeling himself off of Seungyoon and hugging his knees by his feet as Seungyoon strokes Polly with a smile. His cat has the audacity to lay his head on Seungyoon’s chest. Taehyun growls.

“That should be me.”

Seungyoon laughs and holds out a hand and Taehyun scoffs before taking it in his. _Okay,_ this is still nice. Seungyoon is sprawled on his bed with his cat. He likes this a lot.

“Should we find someone to cat-sit tonight?” Seungyoon asks, giving Taehyun’s hand a squeeze. “Preferably until morning?”

Taehyun grins, his mind already swimming with all the possibilities. And he thought it isn’t possible to like Seungyoon even more. “I’ve got just the guy.”

 

 

Jinwoo blinks as his gaze flits from Taehyun to Seungyoon, then back to Taehyun. Rei sits comfortably on his lap. “Why am I here again?”

In a case of the perfect timing, someone knocks on the door and Taehyun beams. “Right on time. Come in!”

Seunghoon looks confused as soon as he sees Seungyoon, but Taehyun just gestures for him to take a seat beside Jinwoo on the bed. They instantly look uncomfortable, Jinwoo already sending Taehyun knowing glares while Seunghoon avoids Jinwoo’s eyes at all costs.

Now Taehyun understands why the two of them always want Taehyun around even though they leave him out of their conversations and can pretty much just hang out on their own if they really wanted to.

Taehyun is their personal Polly. Except they’ve been deliberately cock-blocking themselves for god knows what reason.

This is easily Taehyun’s best idea ever.

“This is Seungyoon, the guy next door,” Taehyun begins, using that chance to put an arm around Seungyoon’s shoulders. It’ difficult not to keep touching him. “Seungyoon, these are my friends, Jinwoo and Seunghoon.”

“Hi,” Seungyoon greets, looking rather shy Taehyun has to fight the urge to kiss him right then and there. They’ll have more time for that later.

“Anyway,” Taehyun continues, moving to the desk to take the boxes of takeout he and Seungyoon had bought earlier. “This is dinner. I added a midnight snack, too, so you don’t go complaining later on that I’m not feeding you enough. There are movies on my laptop you might like, Jinwoo knows the password already. And if you need me, don’t give me a call.”

Jinwoo frowns. “I still don’t unders–“

“Shh,” Taehyun holds up a hand. “Remember when you two wouldn’t stop hounding me about getting it on with Seungyoon? Well, guess what,” he takes Seungyoon’s hand and laces their fingers together. “We’re going to have lots of sex tonight and hopefully tomorrow morning, too, so we need you both to take care of Polly because apparently she has issues with me and Seungyoon being intimate.”

Seungyoon nudges Taehyun’s rib, pink at the cheeks, and Jinwoo cracks into a smile and high-fives Taehyun. Seunghoon, on the other hand, tilts his head, still puzzled and looking a bit nervous.

“But do I need to be here? Jinwoo can take care of two cats on his own.”

“Well, my friend, we figured since Polly is the reason why Seungyoon and I got together, maybe she could be the reason you two can finally stop beating around the fucking proverbial bush and just get on with it! _Jesus_ do you have any idea how annoying you two are? Jinwoo is in love with you and don’t think I haven’t seen you look at Jinwoo like he’s some kind of puppy you want to protect! For the love of god, just admit you want each other already!”

Taehyun pauses to catch his breath, delighting in the way everyone’s jaws have slacked. Even Seungyoon looks impressed.

“Damn, it feels good to get that out of my system,” Taehyun smiles, giving his friends’ shoulders a tap. Jinwoo looks like he’s about to cry while Seunghoon’s face remains impassive but his ears are tinged red. They refuse to meet each other’s eyes, too. It’s freaking adorable even to Taehyun.

“Now that it’s out there, _oops my bad,_ maybe you two should talk about it while making sure my cat doesn’t die. Also don’t worry about sex noises, Seungyoon’s room is soundproofed.”

Jinwoo looks like he’s about to protest, but Taehyun and Seungyoon turn to leave in a hurry, grabbing just the essentials that Taehyun had already prepared.

They rush into Seungyoon’s room, giggling, and before Taehyun could run towards the bed, Seungyoon has him trapped in his arms, pushing him against a foamed wall instead. Seungyoon leans in nudges their noses close together teasingly.

“Do you think it’ll work? They seem kind of awkward.”

“It will, trust me,” Taehyun is starting to feel the heat pool in his belly when Seungyoon presses even closer. It’s a good thing he doesn’t need to resist this anymore. This is officially the end of the drought, and the beginning of something _really_ good with Seungyoon. “Also, who cares, I just wanted my cat gone.”

Seungyoon laughs that hearty laugh again and Taehyun silences him by pulling him in and kissing him hard.

**Author's Note:**

> This took foreeevvverrrr to finish and I'm still dissatisfied hnggg. I don't know, I always feel like I don't do kangnam justice with my fics I just want every story to be as beautiful as it could be, this ship deserves the best. ;__; 
> 
> Anyway, after a million years, I finally finished a kangnam fic! Yay! :D


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